https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The headquarters of France's football chiefs was raided as part of the ongoing probe into corruption at FIFA and the criminal investigation targeting Sepp Blatter. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160309/french-footballs-hq-raided-as-partof-in-blatter-probe Wed, 09 Mar 2016 09:52:17 +0100 french-footballs-hq-raided-as-partof-in-blatter-probe Michel Platini called FIFA's eight year ban a "kick in the teeth" but vowed in an interview on Tuesday to fight on for the presidency of world football's governing body. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151222/platini-says-fifa-ban-interwiew Tue, 22 Dec 2015 15:45:47 +0100 platini-says-fifa-ban-interwiew A report issued to Uefa's executive committee in 1998 appears to support Michel Platini's claim that he was paid an annual salary "of one million Swiss francs" for work as an advisor to Fifa. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151206/memo-backs-platini-salary-claim-report Sun, 06 Dec 2015 14:03:19 +0100 memo-backs-platini-salary-claim-report Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was the reason Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup instead of the United States, who had been favourites, disgraced Fifa president Sepp Blatter has claimed. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151030/sarkozy-cost-united-states-world-cup-blatter Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:16:36 +0100 sarkozy-cost-united-states-world-cup-blatter European football supremo Michel Platini insisted on Thursday that he remains the best man to lead scandal-hit Fifa despite currently being suspended from the sport. Platini compared himself to a medieval knight. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151029/platini-i-am-the-knight-man-for-fifa Thu, 29 Oct 2015 09:44:07 +0100 platini-i-am-the-knight-man-for-fifa UEFA chief Michel Platini has appealed against a 90-day suspension imposed on him by world governing body FIFA as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, a close associate said on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151010/platini-o Sat, 10 Oct 2015 16:59:48 +0200 platini-o Uefa president Michel Platini has been hit with a suspension by world football governing body Fifa along with the organisation's president Sepp Blatter. https://www.thelocal.fr/20151008/frenchman-platini-huit-with-fifa-suspension Thu, 08 Oct 2015 14:51:34 +0200 frenchman-platini-huit-with-fifa-suspension Beleaguered Fifa president Sepp Blatter was placed under a criminal investigation in a dramatic escalation of the corruption scandal engulfing world football as would-be successor Michel Platini came under scrutiny for receiving a murky multi-million-dollar payment. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150925/swiss-launch-criminal-proceedings-against-fifa-boss-sepp-blatter Fri, 25 Sep 2015 18:49:08 +0200 swiss-launch-criminal-proceedings-against-fifa-boss-sepp-blatter Fifa president Sepp Blatter has alleged Uefa counterpart Michel Platini warned him he faced prison if he did not withdraw from the world football governing body's presidential race. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150815/platini-warned-me-of-prison-blatter Sat, 15 Aug 2015 19:36:27 +0200 platini-warned-me-of-prison-blatter UPDATED: Uefa boss Michel Platini is to stand as a candidate for the presidency of world football's governing body, Fifa, Uefa announced on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150728/frances-platini-looks-set-to-run-for-fifa Tue, 28 Jul 2015 18:49:51 +0200 frances-platini-looks-set-to-run-for-fifa According to Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, French and German presidents applied political pressure prior to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes https://www.thelocal.fr/20150705/blatter-france-and-germany-pressured Sun, 05 Jul 2015 19:25:39 +0200 blatter-france-and-germany-pressured After Sepp Blatter’s shock resignation as the President of Fifa, Frenchman Michel Platini, the current head of Uefa, is being urged to take over at the helm. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150603/frenchman-platini-urged-to-take-over-fifa Wed, 03 Jun 2015 11:14:59 +0200 frenchman-platini-urged-to-take-over-fifa UPDATED: Allegations that leading figures at Fifa took bribes for the awarding of World Cups has led to suspicion that the vote that saw France named host of the 1998 tournament was also tainted by corruption. French football chiefs and Uefa's Michel Platini have also rounded on Fifa’s chief Sepp Blatter. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150528/france-world-cup-98-tainted-by-fifa-scandal Thu, 28 May 2015 15:04:31 +0200 france-world-cup-98-tainted-by-fifa-scandal Uefa president Michel Platini has thrown his weight behind Jordan's Prince Ali bin al Hussein in his bid to unseat Sepp Blatter as the head of football's world governing body Fifa. https://www.thelocal.fr/20150525/platini-wasnt-prince-to-batter-blatter Mon, 25 May 2015 12:58:21 +0200 platini-wasnt-prince-to-batter-blatter Uefa president Michel Platini told AFP that rumours he was given a Picasso painting in return for voting for Russia to host the 2018 World Cup were "totally fictitious". https://www.thelocal.fr/20141201/platini-denies-russia-picasso-for-world-cup Mon, 01 Dec 2014 11:18:00 +0100 platini-denies-russia-picasso-for-world-cup Former FIFA deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne will hold a press conference in London on Monday in which he is expected to announce his bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as president of world football's governing body. https://www.thelocal.fr/20140118/frenchman-champange-poised-for-fifa-bid Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:28:00 +0100 frenchman-champange-poised-for-fifa-bid Eccentric French actor, Russian citizen and Belgian resident Gérard Depardieu has attacked "the way [French] governments use the money they take" in an interview during a rare visit to Paris, it was reported on Monday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20130805/depardieu-slams-government-amid-rare-paris-film-shoot Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:36:00 +0200 depardieu-slams-government-amid-rare-paris-film-shoot